The Great Escape
by Victoria Breckon
Summary: It's not insanity that's brought her here-- It's fate. Mary Alice Brandon is searching, with unconcious abilities, for this blurry man she's had the pleasure of seeing. She's caught a glimpse of his face, but will that be enough to find him?
1. The Beginning of the End

His face flashed through my mind as I immediately perked up, closing my eyes so as to see him better. Jasper's beautiful, tortured face was crazy with indecision. He was clearly contemplating something, something important by the looks of it. I had learned through the many times that I had seen Jasper that he did not like to brood over his decisions. Yet something about the look clearly plastered on his face—the agony, the torture, yet the small glimmer of hope it held for me—showed any bystander that he was, in fact, thinking hard about the pros and cons of each decision.

"Don't worry, Jasper," I whispered softly. "I know you'll make the right decision."

And then he was gone.

Frantically I opened my eyes, hoping that, somehow, I had appeared on the scene with him like I had daydreamed so many times. Disappointment flooded through me as I realized I was still in the clammy, filthy room that I had been confined to. I groaned, wrapping the pink and purple crotched blanket around me as I rolled myself into a ball. The hospital bed on which I laid on was hard and lumpy, a sign of the poor economy of the time. It was either that or the staff here did not care about their patient's health. I, personally, was leaning towards my second assumption. Dirty air particles filled the lungs as I slowly, without caring, breathed in. The air was polluted enough to cause any sane person to have a difficulty breathing. Though since most of the 'patients' here were not considered sane, did no one care if we breathed or not? We would most likely die here, right in this retched asylum. And yet it felt as though no one cared if we lived to see the next day or not.

Slowly I sat up, knowing that Nyxyn would be on his way with his daily routine dose of food and medication. I pulled the blanket around me, hugging my knees close to my chest. A slight sigh escaped my lips as I sensed the staff member approaching, carrying his usual tan tray filled with just the bare minimum of food for me to get by. Nyxyn Hellevoure had always carried a natural gift that intrigued me towards him. No, I did not feel infatuated to or by him, more curious than anything. His eyes were a deep crimson, so dark they were almost black. And oh, how graceful he was! I had never seen him touch any food, though of course I could hardly see anything through the small food slot in my door.

It seemed that Nyxyn had always taken a particular liking to me, one that I had not quite understood in the beginning. He would always wait by my door, talking quietly and urgently to me in a beautiful tenor voice. He would speak of his family, how his father had never believed him and how he was ashamed that he had ended up working here of all places. I had only been lucky enough to see his face once; it reminded me of Jasper's; it was perfectly pale and shaggy black hair framed his face. Bangs covered the vision line of one eye, the other crimson one showing up perfectly. He was dressed in white coats and pants just as all the other staff members were, although he seemed more like a male model in his than any of the other workers.

Just as I had predicted, Nyxyn tapped lightly on my door. "Food, Miss Alice." He said softly. There was something else in his voice, though—something that was not usually there. Was it urgency? Secrecy?

I soon found out. "Alice, please hurry. The day has finally come for you; your number is up."

His words confused me. Did this mean I would finally be freed? Had my mother or father, or, hell, Cynthia, come to finally free me from this horrible place? Would I finally be able to do whatever I wanted, when I wanted? Would this mean I would be able to see Jasper? Just as I was told, I rushed quickly over to the door, still holding the blanket. I lifted up the small food door on the floor, peering out though it. My breath drew in; Nyxyn's beautiful face was inches from mine. His eyes were burning with danger as he stared at me, slowly unlocking the door.

The beams of the bright, hospital-like lights shone through the door, causing me to squint. My room here was not this bright; in fact, there were no lights in my regular confined space. It was a pit of darkness, a black hole that sucked every glimmer of hope and every sign of humanity that was left in your life until it no longer existed. "Nyxyn, what's going on?" I asked in my fair, soprano voice?

"Shh, Miss Alice. Hurry, come with me. And bring your blanket and anything dear to you. It's time."

"Nyxyn, what are you—" I was cut off by his glare; it knocked me speechless.

"Alice, do as you're told, please. It may be too late if you don't cooperate."

Quickly, I ran to my room, clutching my blanket close to my chest as I folded it across my arm. I grabbed my notebook, the one that I had made every observation from my visions—everything from the Cullen family descriptions to sketches of Jasper filled this leather-bound, expensive notebook I had received for my seventeenth birthday. It was the last item I had ever received from my parents.

I scanned the room once more, making sure I had not forgotten anything vital, for I was somehow positive this would be the last look I would ever get at this room. Truthfully, if this was the scenario, I was overjoyed with happiness. Approaching Nyxyn, he grabbed my hand and started walking quickly towards the front door. He was so fast—I was practically being dragged. Yet I obeyed, not once questioning where we were going, even though my mind was positively squirming with unanswered questions.

Soon, before I realized what was happening, we were flying. I wasn't sure how or what had caused this to happen—was I possibly ascending to Heaven? Was that what Nyxyn had meant, that I was reaching my Judgment day? After what seemed like a few minutes, we were very far from the asylum. I felt slightly woozy, and this time it was not because the lack of nourishment. Nyxyn was gazing down at me, his dark eyes equally dark to the midnight sky above us.

"Alice."

"Nyxyn, what's going on?"

"Alice, there's no time for questions. You cannot stay there anymore. James—he'll get you if you do. I'm doing what is best for you, Alice, always remember that."

"I don't understand, what are you doing for me?" I asked, very confused at the current moment.

"Alice, hold still. It was nice knowing you, young one. I do hope you survive."

Before I could understand what was happening, Nyxyn's sweet-smelling face was descending towards my neck. I stayed perfectly still, just as he had directly stated for me to. I did not want James to hurt me, and whatever Nyxyn was doing, I knew that, somehow, I would benefit.

His teeth grazed my neck; he seemed to be breathing in my scent. A horrified realization hit my square in the head, and I let out a slight scream of terror, one that would be the first of millions.

The pain had finally ceased as I slowly opened my eyes. I was lying on my back against the lush forest floor, staring up at the dim, green light that shone through the thick forest trees—the few that existed in Biloxi. _Where am I?_ I thought desperately, standing up in one lithe, graceful motion. "What the—" I was momentarily dazed. How had I stood up so quickly?

A new pain had filled my body, and it strangely reminded me of the same one that had filled me for the past three days. It was a burning sensation, one that nearly sent me over the edge. It licked the back of my throat raw, the blaze a never ending flame that seemed to excel in ferocity and rage. I soon found myself running through the forest, faster than I had ever thought possible—I was almost gliding. The trees seemed to blur past me. And then it hit me—a luscious smell, so sweet that it seemed it was my perfect aroma, created especially for me in mind. There was a soft beating, one that was living; it seemed to urge the burning in the back of my throat on. I needed to soothe the feeling. Eagerly, I raced through the forest, lunging on the beast that carried the delicious smell. Instinctively, my senses took over control of the rational, realistic part of my mind, and I temporarily soothed the burn.

My mind never seemed to find the need to stop asking itself the same question—What was I? It was filled to the brim and then some with other questions—Why was I acting… inhuman? Where was Nyxyn? Had he done this to me? Why was there so much pain I had felt, and where had it disappeared to?

I slowly closed my eyes, urging a vision to grace my attention. It soon did—Jasper's face appeared, although this time it was different. I was with him, and we looked happy. A small gasp escaped me as I realized we were mates. I grinned as the vision progressed, showing the Cullen family. Jasper and I had finally reached them—we each seemed equally happy, for we had found our perfect family.

Opening my eyes, I frowned at reality. Jasper was nowhere to seen, and neither were any of the Cullens. Where were these people? I was beginning to imagine I had dreamed them up. But that wouldn't be true—how could I dream up such wonderful, beautiful people? More importantly, how could I have become one of them? I sighed, feeling as though I could potentially sob my eyes out. With a sucked in breath that only caused the burning in my throat to increase. With a groan, I raced through the forest, clueless, as I searched for potential prey to quench my thirst upon.


	2. Stuggles with Sanity

No matter how much I drank, the burning sensation never seemed to cease. It was constantly there, flaring; it was getting to my imagination, and I soon find myself envisioning the humans underneath me, paralyzed by my venom, sucked dry. The flames that licked my throat raw were edging me on, pushing me closer. I was abandoning all sense of humanity, if I even had any left. I was beginning to doubt that I even had a clean, [i]normal[/i] thought anymore. Surely, whatever horrific thing I was now, could not contain such humane thoughts. It would be against its nature.

Glancing down at my blouse, I gasped a light, airy gasp. It was covered in a deep crimson liquid. [i]How did that get there?[/i] I thought, my brows crunching together. Whatever the liquid was, I wanted more. My mind was slowly gathering the information and piecing it together. At the pace it was going, it seemed like it could only comprehend one word at a time. After a few seconds, I had it. I had reached a conclusion, the one that would surely land me in an insane asylum if I were to tell a single soul.

I, Mary Alice Brandon, was a vampire.

It felt incredible to say. Incredible, nerve-wracking, crazy, and on the verge of hallucinations; That's what was coursing through me, along with some form of adrenaline. I wasn't sure how I had turned into this… [i]vampire[/i]… but I knew that's what I was. Despite the blood-craves and my pale, shimmering skin, one odd fact seemed to stick out: I was so unsure of many basic facts. When was my birthday? How old was I? Did I have a mother, a father, siblings? What were they like, and what were their names. Was I always living here? Did I like it here? How had I been living before I became like this, however I became like this? The only reason I knew my name was because of a leather-bound notebook that had been lying on the ground next to me as I woke up, lying on a hand-made blanket. On the front of it were the words 'Mary Alice Brandon' imprinted into the leather, leaving deep indentations on it. I soon gathered it in my hands, tracing the letters that made up my name, given to me by unknown people.

Flipping the book open, I was faced with unknown beauty. The very first picture was of a man, placed at a perfect twenty in age. His hair was curly and reached just below his ears. Beautiful, heartfelt eyes were spaced perfectly apart; separating them was a sculpted nose, straight and perfect. He was perfect. A hint of a smile played with his lips, though it was well-hidden against some military code he was forced to follow.

Underneath the sketch was a name. It read [i]Jasper Whitlock[/i] in tiny, scrawled letters. My fingers soon found the other pages, and I learned the names of a family I had drawn, known as the Cullens. They were unnaturally beautiful, each sculpted from the view of an angel. They were all different, yet each alike with their perfect features and build. One page held descriptions of each of the family members; Others had quickly written notes, as though I had had to take notes from some unknown source. A crinkled page near the back had a description of my first sketch, of his location, and where he might be headed to. [i]How had I received this information?[/i] I thought curiously, shaking my head in confusion.

Suddenly my eyes focused on nothing in particular, and my mind was far away from my current scene.

[i]I raced through the forest, as light and airy as a feather barely floating by, urging another vision to come. His location before this had been close to Dover.[/i] Was the weather there okay to be traveling in?[i] I wondered, indeed worried if I could travel there safely without a fear of exposing myself. A new vision did come, showing a rainy Delaware.[/i] Good… He should be there.[i] With renewed hope, I began sprinting faster than ever, knowing that I was closer to Jasper than I had been in quite a while.[/i]

It felt as though I were gasping for breath as I came out of the vision, falling back onto the leaves and being caught by the blanket's crotched cloth. [i]So that's how I gained the information,[/i] I thought, a light, breezy chuckle escaping me. It was a beautiful sound, echoing the perfect chiming of a soprano bell.

I now knew what needed to be done. I needed to find this Jasper. Clearly, I possessed a gift, one that would hopefully lead me to him until our timings would be perfect. I wasn't sure why, but something was screaming at me to find him, to comfort him. Was it fate playing their newly dealt cards?

Standing up, I knew that I must find a decent pair of clothes to travel in; It would look too suspicious to be wondering around humans with bloodstained clothes.

Then a new thought found its way to my brain, and I froze with paralyzed fear.

[i]How would I be able to interact and be around humans without killing them?[/i]

My heart plunged towards my stomach as I balanced myself against a tree, fighting the urge to kick it down with rage. I should have known that I wouldn't be able to resist in such a short time. I was newly created, or at least I believed so. How was I suppose to create a game-plan if I was so short for information? I needed someone to tell me what I should do. Yet no one was in sight. No one could help me.

My senses immediately perked up as I sensed him. A spicy, strong scene filled the air, and I could almost feel his footsteps crunching on the leaves silently.

"Anything wrong, Miss Brandon?"


End file.
